Tribalism, and other such annoyance

The ideals of heaven were compiled together through images of those thought by Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, and most other ancient religions, by a Jewish philosopher, Filo, who demonstrated his intelligence and insight into human nature to describe the actions that would path our ways to heaven and what the “divine state” would be. His version of heaven is accepted even today, and depicted largely accurately in many religions. With such shared knowledge and virtues, why do we find it so difficult to merge or respect cultures and traditions or even accept those who are different?

It seems as though race is no longer an issue in current life. We have developed a society largely based on “tribalism” which separates African Americans from Black Asians or the Shiite and Sunni Muslims, much like the soccer violence in Europe, where in one instance over a hundred fans were killed, some as young as twelve, because of the renowned British “football hooliganism”. Over the years we have been so wrapped up in assuring that no racial slurs have even been uttered because of skin colour, yet we have failed to see the “revolution” of racism into a society that bases its prejudice not on skin colour, but origin or background. Should society have to resort to ostracism, derogatory slurs and violent actions simply because someone is in some way different, even if not visually?

Seldom can someone walk up to another and say that they did not wonder about their background or nationality. In Northern Ireland, you had to know if someone was Protestant or Catholic to determine in which area you lived. If you were Atheist, you had to decide whether you were Protestant Atheist or Catholic Atheist. Because of your religion, you were expected to hold the same political ideology as those of your denomination, the Protestants wishing to be part of the United Kingdom, and the Catholics wishing for it to be a nation upon itself. As most stereotypes and prejudice produces, the outcome here was negative. Hundreds were killed. Hundreds are still being killed, all over the world, because of tribalism.

Tribalism has been around since the dawn of time, where competing tribes went to war over territory, but lately it has evolved into stereotyping and prejudice with the underlying sense that your nationality or grouping is what determines how you as an individual should be treated. In Brixton, which is often socially called the “black” area of England, a black Caribbean high school teacher was walking through the streets as he went on his visit to the historical city, when black Africans began yelling “Go back to where you came from, nigger!” which, unsurpisingly, shocked him. As a highly-educated teacher, he knew that Brixton had had racially-caused riots in the past and was amazed at the racism towards him when those persecuting him were, in fact, the same colour as he.

Ironically, it seems as though the only concept that can be blamed for this sudden outburst of discrimination is globalisation. To be different is a crime in modern day society, and when students – particularly teenagers in high school – label each other as “emo”, “chav”, “goth”, or any of the commonly known stereotypes, they unknowingly treat the individual different as they would “one of their own”. It is true that this is not always the case, but very often it is. In this day and age where terrorism and war is a part of life, we still seem insistent on seperating ourselves instead of banding together.

With our broadening knowledge and growing experience of the wide variety of cultures within the world, it is amazing how often we are judged. If you are white, you are not from Africa – when in fact there are many whites living in Africa, particularly in South Africa and Zimbabwe, as well as those in expatriate jobs in Tanzania, Angola, and similar countries. If you are from Liverpool in England you are poor and ill-mannered, while if you are from Oxford you are well-educated and articulate – which is a ridiculous statement as Oxford University is open to students from all over Britain; in fact, all over the world, and some of the greatest scholars of our time have been from Liverpool. In Rwanda, small genocide occurred between the Tsutsi and the Hutsu, where the Hutsu – in a matter of literally a hundred days – killed a large number of Tsutsi, who retaliated on a rather smaller scale having lost such a great number, and in the end nearly a million were killed. Our ethnic identities are not solely our identities, although there is no doubt that it is part of it, and should therefore not lead to such chaos.

People may assume about others judging by their social niche or ethnic background, but in our modern society where there is an ever-growing need to band together to avert global disaster, we should not postulate ideas on individuals or group because of who they are seen to be instead of what the group that they are placed in has been labelled as. We have been taught not to prejudge others, but time has proven that it is never wholly possible to do so, although I leave you with this thought… actions speak louder than words. Tribalism may be a mind-set, but is the persecution that is derivative of it necessary?